The explosive growth in the number and use of cell phones have been fueled in large part by the earlier development of phone systems in primarily for use in vehicles, automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicle or other types of conveniences. Originally, cell phones were referred to as “mobile phones or car phones” due to their primary use within vehicles. The substantial power consumption of early mobile or car phones and the resulting bulky size of such phones made fabrication of handheld or portable cell phones difficult and impractical. Thus, most early mobile or early car phones developed as dedicated units permanently installed within vehicles. Over time however, advances in technology associated with mobile phones, particularly in advances in digital electronic technology, led to increased development of so-called portable cell phones, the further and continuing advances in technology made practical the fabrication of portable cell phones which were relatively small handheld units suitable for carrying upon the user's person or other convenient methods of carrying such as brief cases, purses etc. A major portion of the development of practical handheld cell phones resulted from the reduction of power required for communication throughout the cell phone network which enjoyed substantial development during this same period. A corresponding improvement in battery technology accompanied this technological advance all of which came together to provide practical or handheld or personal cell phones.
As the development of cell phone technologies continued, the majority of dedicated installed units within vehicles of the type originally described as mobile phones or car phones began to be replaced in the market place by personal handheld units. While the design and fabrication of such personal handheld cell phones varies between manufactures, generally all include a housing, usually formed of a molded plastic material or the like, within which a digitally electronic circuit and associated components is supported. An antenna is further supported upon the housing together with a front face which supports a plurality of input buttons for user operation and a small display. Power is provided by rechargeable batteries which may for example include nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride or lithium ion types of power sources.
In most compact personal type cell phones, the battery or battery pack is fitted to and forms a part of the cell phone housing. In most units the battery is supported at the rear of the cell phone housing to maximize the available front surface to be used for controls and display. The battery or battery pack is secured to the housing by a snap-latch mechanism which is sufficiently reliable and secure to support the weight of the entire cell phone. In some manufacture devices, the battery pack includes an integral clip or holding attachment suitable for securing to the user's belt or purse or other convenient areas.
In some environments typical of cell phone use such as vehicle interiors, the use of a personal cell phone is subject to substantial inconvenience caused ironically by the compact size which renders such cell phones so popular and useful when carried about. Simply stated, it is often difficult to conveniently place or locate a handheld cell phone within a vehicle interior and is even more difficult to maintain the cell phone conveniently accessible within such vehicle interiors.
Faced with this limitation and inconvenience in the use of small personal cell phones, practitioner's in the art have provided a variety of retainers or holding devices which attempt to maintain such cell phones in convenient locations within a vehicle or the like. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,712 issued to Pesonen et al sets forth a MOUNTING SYSTEM FOR CAR TELEPHONE having amounting shoe provided with flutes and a partly grooved central portion. The mounting shoe further includes a mounting piece having flanges fitting into the flutes and a plate spring for engaging the grooved central portion to secure the coupling of the mounting shoe and the mounting piece.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 411,216 issued to Richter sets forth a MAGNETIC TELEPHONE HOLDER having a generally rectangular housing defining a front face which in turn supports a pattered surface area.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 406,592 issued to Richter sets forth a MAGNETIC TELEPHONE HOLDER having a generally rectangular planar housing defining a magnetic surface on one portion thereof. A raised supporting wall extends about a portion of the magnetic surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,302 issued to Wang sets forth a MOBILE TELEPHONE HOLDER having a base plate covered with a back cover, two clamping plates coupled to the base plate at opposite sides thereof and defining a rack, a rotating gear mounted inside the base plate and meshed between the racks, and locating gear and a sliding switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,565 issued to Wakefield sets forth a COMBINATION CUP AND CELLULAR PHONE HOLDER constructed to be received within an existing vehicle beverage holder. The combination cup and cellular phone holder includes recesses for receiving a beverage cup together with a recess for receiving a cell phone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,549 issued to Wang sets forth a MOBILE TELEPHONE HOLDER having a mounting plate supported by a pair of suction cups against the interior windshield of the vehicle. A flexible arm extends downwardly and rearwardly from the base and supports a phone receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,563 issued to Ilsin-yung sets forth a MOBILE PHONE HOLDER having a base supporting a pair of movable jaws. A gear mechanism is operatively coupled to movable button which manipulates the jaws to grasp a cell phone therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 365,567 issued to Cantrell sets forth a HOLDER FOR FLIP TYPE CELLULAR TELEPHONE having a base defining a receptacle configured to receive a cellular telephone. The base further includes and extending clip configured to grip the interior door edge of a vehicle or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,395 issued to McBride sets forth a DEVICE FOR ATTACHING A WIRELESS TELEPHONE TO A PORTABLE COMPUTER having a bracket configured to receive a wireless telephone. The bracket is securable to the vertical lid or screen portion of a portable computer.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 407,408 issued to Hoff sets forth a PHONE HOLDER having a generally cylindrical base supporting a planar element positioned at an acute angle to the cylindrical base. The planar element includes a plurality of upwardly extending tabs which cooperate to form a receptacle area for a phone.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 411,544 issued to Richter sets forth a CLAMP WITH NECK AND TELEPHONE HOLDER WITH SIDEWALL having a clamping base supporting a flexible arm which in turn supports a housing having a telephone receptacle formed therein. A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 411,217 also issued in the name of Richter.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 411,209 issued to Richter sets forth a FLAT TELEPHONE HOLDER WITH CURVED ADHESIVE MOUNT having a generally rectangular housing defining a generally planar front face. The housing is secured to and supported by a flexible adhesive mounting member.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have generally improved the art and is some instances enjoyed commercial success, they are often unduly complex and costly. In addition the above described prior art devices often proved to be inconvenient for use within the limited space available in a typical vehicle interior. Accordingly, there remains a continuing need in the art for a simple, low-cost, effective and convenient apparatus for retaining and temporarily holding a cell phone or other similar article.